Search Result for "newel": 
Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (2)

1. the post at the top or bottom of a flight of stairs; it supports the handrail;
[syn: newel post, newel]

2. the central pillar of a circular staircase;


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Newel \New"el\ (n[=u]"[e^]l), n. [From New. Cf. Novel.] A novelty; a new thing. [Obs.] --Spenser. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Newel \New"el\ (n[=u]"[e^]l), n. [OF. nual, F. noyau sone, of fruit, noyau d'escaler newel, fr. L. nucalis like a nut, fr. nux, nucis, nut. Cf. Nowel the inner wall of a mold, Nucleus.] (Arch.) The upright post about which the steps of a circular staircase wind; hence, in stairs having straight flights, the principal post at the foot of a staircase, or the secondary ones at the landings. Also called newel post. See Hollow newel, under Hollow. [1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

newel n 1: the post at the top or bottom of a flight of stairs; it supports the handrail [syn: newel post, newel] 2: the central pillar of a circular staircase